Our culture here in America is growing more and more hostile to the concept of patriotism, a fact that is evidenced by the many stories we see on a regular basis about the disrespect shown our flag.

Whether it’s Muslims demanding home owners remove Old Glory from the property or some despicable left-wing protester urinating on the Stars and Stripes and lighting her on fire, it’s clear our banner, which represents the ideals that make our nation great, are under attack.

Let’s take the NFL for example. Over the last year or so, many pro-football players have decided to express themselves on the field by refusing to stand for the National Anthem instead of honoring the flag, all as a form of protest against supposedly “racist” police shootings in America.

This all started with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who caught national attention for his antics and helped to spread this disrespectful nonsense across the country. Even kids playing peewee football got in on it.

All of this protesting led to many fans being utterly disgusted with the politicization of their favorite sport, something they typically tuned into each week to get a break from the hostile climate our nation has found itself in. Ratings tumbled down the rabbit hole, leaving the NFL baffled as to what was happening.

Well, what a VFW in Strongsville, Ohio is doing should offer all the clues one needs as to why folks were turning off instead of tuning in.

The establishment posted a sign outside that reads: “We like our Browns- we love our flag more. Your games will no longer be shown here. God Bless America!”

It seems the inspiration for the sign — which is simply awesome — is the action taken by more than a dozen Browns players to take a knee and dishonor the country that has provided them with the opportunity to make a living playing a game they love during the “Star Spangled Banner.”

A lot of folks are blowing steam out of their ears over this — and rightly so — such as the fiancée of a slain Akron police officer. Justin Winebrenner was one of the good guys, putting his life on the line each and every day in order to make sure his community remained safe from criminals and miscreants who threatened the peace of his home town.

How was he repaid for his bravery? He was shot and killed in an Akron bar. These are the heroes that are being disrespected when some rich superstar athlete takes a knee during the National Anthem.

Winebrenner was a huge Cleveland Browns season ticket holder and a diehard fan his whole life, which makes the action taken by these players even more deplorable.

His wife, Tiffany Miller, was so discouraged and angered by it she created an entire Facebook post about it.

And she’s not the only one. Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill posted on his social media that he won’t be attending any games where “draft dodging millionaire athletes disrespect the veterans who earned them the right to be on that field. Shame on you all.”

One of the players that took a knee, tight end Seth DeValve, later attempted to walk back his reason for taking this particular form of protest by stating he wanted to “pray for our country.”

Christian Kirksey, linebacker for the Browns, said “Respect to all the veterans, respect to the military — we are not protesting against them. We have our reasons for doing what we did, and last night felt like the right time to do it, and that’s why we did it.”

Yeah, the reason you did what you did was because this sort of “hashtag activism” — trendy political engagement — was done as a means to look relevant and cool, like you stand for something, in order to blow up your social media following and have others start following you.

Looking “woke” as the kids say these days, helps improve image and makes a player look more attractive to companies looking to sponsor athletes. The larger the following online, the more money they are worth.

It’s likely a huge majority of these spoiled players don’t even believe in the cause they claim to be fighting for. It’s nothing more than a means to an end, and if it helps them put more bank in their pocket, they are willing to do whatever is necessary.

These privileged individuals live in a land where they are absolutely free to choose any path they want for their lives, where they have near limitless possibilities and opportunities for success.

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